Investigation finds fatal 2019 kayaking trip was not properly assessed for risks

AN INVESTIGATION into a fatal kayaking outing in 2019 by the University of Limerick Kayaking Club (ULKC) has found that the trip was not properly assessed for risks.

The 202-page report determined that prevailing conditions of the Caragh River in County Kerry were not suitable for all 27 members to manage, resulting in the death of a young woman, Aisling O’Connor (21) from Donegal, the report by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) found.

During the trip, the sub-group of kayakers Ms O’Connor was with came into difficulties which resulted in her becoming trapped under a tree branch where she was rendered unconscious and stopped breathing.

Ms O’Connor was rescued from the water, resuscitated and transferred to hospital where she subsequently died.

Another kayaker, a 21-year-old male also needed to be resuscitated and was later transferred to hospital where he recovered.

According to the report, each of the kayakers had individual and varying levels of kayaking competencies and skills, instructor and other qualifications and experience.

Members of ULKC in charge of identifying and assessing the risks in advance, and on the day, were insufficiently trained and experienced.

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The Upper Caragh River where the trip took place is considered a grade three and sometimes grade four river, meaning difficult or very difficult.

Rivers are graded according to their difficulties for kayaking purposes.

Irish WhiteWater is a “well-regarded website” that kayakers use to find reports on the conditions of rivers in Ireland.

The descriptive terms used include “low-hanging trees”, “rapids”, and “a larger grade four rapid”.

The incident occurred after 2pm on November 2, 2019 and Met Éireann had a yellow weather warning for rainfall in place from 8am until 11.59pm the same day.

Met Éireann estimates that rain occurred during the day with some heavy outbursts between 7am and 12pm.

This made conditions on the river more difficult than usual.

The report also mentioned that “there was a lack of adherence to the ULKC Safety Statement and Trips Policy and Procedure which set out control measures, which led to a lack of accredited training, which led to poor decision making” on the day of the excursion.

The various parties involved (ULKC) and the UL Student's Union (now UL Student Life) have made steps to improve safety since the investigation began.